In the single hour I was in the shop, which is owned by Gary Thorpe and Peter Watts, there was a constant flow of customers coming in to look at the different designs on the walls or ask the advice of the shop’s tattoo artists.

According to a survey by Kidderminster’s Brintons carpets, 15 per cent of the British population has a secret piece of body art.

Rob says the shop has been almost fully booked over the summer. Some of the most popular designs at the moment, especially with girls, are stars or abstract designs drawn on to the base of the spine.

He says the new trend is for new skool’ tattoos, reminiscent of the 1940s and 50s, with bolder lines and shapes such as swallows, butterflies and anchors.

But he said when customers ask to have a partner’s name tattooed, he always checks they are absolutely sure that is what they want.

“We do cover a few names over,” he says.

Brintons’ survey asked which design people would prefer – floral, a Chinese or Celtic design, animal, sporting or name related.

The favourite for women was a Chinese or Celtic design, with 38 per cent saying they would choose one of those. For men, the choice was harder, with 14 per cent picking an animal, followed by 11 per cent opting for a name-related design.

Rob says: “It does follow a trend set by a celebrity, such as Angelina Jolie or Robbie Williams. When Beckham had his back tattooed with an angel, that became popular. We have noticed an increase in women and girls getting them done, and it has increased over the last five or six years. It seems more socially acceptable now.”

But he admitted it was a big commitment to have a tattoo.

“It is going to be there for life. We do have some people, a very small percentage, who come in wanting a tattoo there and then. But we work on a pre-booking system and sometimes when they come back they have had second thoughts.

“Some people listen to our advice, but others don’t. The tattooists, if they don’t think it will look good on the skin, will tell them.”

In the shop, tattooist Paul Munslow was working on covering up a design on 35-year-old Helen Gormley, of Malvern, who is currently working on a book about tattoo designs.

She said: “I had my first tattoo age 17 and I now have 11. I have some 80s stuff but it’s difficult to alter.

“The one I don’t like I have had for about 10 years but, although I want it covered up, we are having trouble coming up with ideas that will work.

“Tattoos are about both meaning and design. For me, they started with meaning. When people get upset and split up with boyfriends they get a tattoo.

“Any kind of emotional crisis, the first thing you do is go off and get a tattoo.”

Her partner, Dave Gormley, aged 44, of Malvern, added: “I have tattoos pretty much everywhere. I have them on both arms, both legs, my neck, my back and two on my chest.

“I have a big dragon’s head on my shoulder covering an old tattoo. I am getting the body put in soon.

“You always regret one or two, but you just cover it up and put something else over it. I have done my own but they look a mess.

“It’s OK to do your own when you are younger, but as you get older you have to get them done properly.”